The Oresteia
description
Transcript of The Oresteia
458 B.C.Aeschylus
The Oresteia
Explores competing and often contradictory social, political, and religious forces in fifth-century Athens
Soldier and playwrightCame of age during the twilight of the
ancient tribal waysPolis (city-state) demanded a new system of
lawReforms toward democracyConflict surrounding the Areopagus
Aeschylus, C. 525-456 B.C.E.
House of Atreus
Darkness to light
War => peace and a new harmonyPrimitive ritual, vendetta => new order, lawSavagery => civilizationMoral struggle => enlightenment and truthPainful recognition => self-awarenessSuffering => regeneration
Progression and Duality
• Masculine vs. the feminine • Apollonian vs. Dionysian• Oikos vs. polis• Physis vs. nomos• Themis vs. dike• War vs. peace• Light vs. dark• One vs. many
Central Oppositions
Man’s capacity for sufferingMan’s courage to endure hereditary guilt and
ethical conflictsMan’s battle for freedom in the teeth of fateMan’s collaboration with the gods to create a
better world
Progression through struggle, pain as a stimulus and a gift
Celebration
Tragic HeroAspiration, overconfidenceErrors (hamartia, hubris)Reversal of expectation (peripeteia)Improved awareness (anagnorisis)Defeat (not necessarily death)
Tragic choice of evilsAgent/victim of violence
Agamemnon
Light and fireYoke, trap, net, snareZeus associated with ironHelen associated with hell, lion cub, blood
weddingSea storm
Images
Consider the following concepts in The Oresteia:
Fate (Moira)JusticeSufferingRevengeGuilt / blood guiltHubris (excessive
pride)Host / guest
relationship
The deities and their powers and demands
Old order to newMoral ambiguityReligionOaths
John Collier, Clytemnestra
Baron Pierre-Narcisse Guérin, Clytemnestra hesitates before killing the sleeping Agamemnon